An Unexpected Answer to Prayer!

   In 1980 I had a specific list of resupply points. I had packed up boxes with food and other supplies for each week and my Dad shipped them to me "general delivery - hold for thru-hiker" at post offices along the way. What I found was that my week typically ended on a Saturday. I also found out that post offices closed at noon on Saturday. I remember finding that out when I pulled into one town at about 1:00pm and then had to wait the rest of Saturday, and all day Sunday, until I could retrieve my supplies Monday morning when the post office reopened.
   In Virginia I was now trying to make it to the Buchanan post office by noon on Saturday. By Friday night of that week I was only a few miles from the road that led to Buchanan. On Saturday morning I got up early and was able to make it to the road crossing at about 10am. The only problem was that Buchanan was 8 miles away from the trail crossing. I would never suggest that someone do this now, but back in 1980 it was common for backpackers to hitch hike (especially into "trail towns"). I was certain that I would be able to hitch a ride into Buchanan and get there before noon on Saturday.
   I began walking down the road, waiting for a car to come along. For some reason there didn't seem to be much traffic on this road at all. In the first 45 minutes only two vehicles came down the road. They saw me but didn't even slow down. I just kept walking, getting more and more frustrated. I knew if I had to walk the entire 8 miles that I would never make it to the post office by noon (then I would be stuck in another town for a long weekend putting me behind schedule).
   The longer I walked, the madder I got. The road had some very sharp hairpin curves. When I got to one of those curves I walked as fast as I could. I knew that a car would not be able to stop in time on one of those curves even if they wanted to. On the stretches that were straight I slowed down a bit, hoping that a car would see me and make the decision to stop and give me a ride. I wish that you could see the steam coming out of my head! I was so mad and upset and frustrated. Why didn't I get up earlier? Why weren't there more cars on the road? Why had no one stopped to pick me up? What will I do for almost two days waiting in town?
   As I was walking along one of the sharpest of the hairpin curves on the road a thought entered my mind. Hey, wait a minute, maybe I ought to pray about this. After all, I called myself a Christian, shouldn't I have some kind of faith and trust in every situation? Quite honestly, I didn't expect anything to happen, but I knew it was the right thing to do. So I started talking to God and said, "God, you know how mad I am about not getting a ride. I guess I should have talked with you about this earlier and I'm sorry. Any way, if you want me to have a ride to town and make it to the post office on time then I know that you will send somebody to pick me up. I pray this in Jesus' name, amen."
   I'm not kidding, as soon as I finished praying (I'm talking about a split-second after) I heard the sound of an engine. I immediately turned and faced toward the car with my thumb in the air. The car was on the hairpin turn and he STOPPED! The door opened and the driver invited me to get in. I remember that the door didn't open "out", it opened "down" because the car was on the banked portion of the curve!
   Did I pray? Yes I did. Did I really expect to get an answer? Not really. The car that stopped was an unexpected answer to prayer! They took me straight to the post office in Buchanan with plenty of time to spare. God has made Himself real to me many different times, but this was the first time that I saw God answer a prayer in such a powerful way. From that moment on I knew that God was real and that He was actively involved in my life. What happened next was just icing on the cake, but that story will have to wait until tomorrow.
   Here in 2011 I weighed in at 179.8 pounds this morning. That is an increase of one pound in one day (*SIGH*)! Last night I watched a tv show where a woman started at 369 pounds and lost 161 pounds in one year. It was inspiring to watch (as I snacked on pretzels and ate a big hamburger). It was also a reminder that I can get to my target weight if I just keep trying. Say a prayer for me today, and ask God to be active in your life. You may be surprised at how He answers!